(a) Subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the State Department of Social Services shall administer the California Newcomer Education and Well-Being Program (CalNEW) to provide services for refugees, unaccompanied undocumented minors, and immigrant families. The department shall allocate funding to school districts with significant numbers of refugee pupils and unaccompanied undocumented minors, or a significant population of English learner pupils. The department shall have sole discretion to determine which school districts and services to fund.
(b) Subject to an appropriation of funds for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the department shall contract to conduct a formal evaluation of the services provided pursuant to subdivision (a).
(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “English learner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 306 of the Education Code.
(2) “Immigrant families” means families with household members and immediate relatives of pupils in which one or more of the members or relatives are not United States citizens.
(3) “Refugee” means populations eligible to receive benefits and services from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, an office of the Administration for Children and Families within the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(4) “Unaccompanied undocumented minors” has the same meaning as unaccompanied alien children, as defined in Section 279(g)(2) of Title 6 of the United States Code.
(d) In accordance with Section 1621(d) of Title 8 of the United States Code, this section provides services for undocumented persons.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law:
(1) Contracts or grants awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be exempt from the personal services contracting requirements of Article 4 (commencing with Section 19130) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) Contracts or grants awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be exempt from the Public Contract Code and the State Contracting Manual, and shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 24, Sec. 87. (SB 98) Effective June 29, 2020.)